Ron and the Mask
by Mortal Guardian
Summary: Dr. Cyrus Bortel lost a mask of mischief he invented.  Ron finds it.


Chapter 1

Somewhere inside a Middleton, Colorado science facility, a laboratory door opened. Out stepped Dr. Cyrus Bortel, looking exhausted that mid-afternoon. His latest invention was finally finished and he could go home to catch up on some much needed sleep. Testing the invention could wait until the next day.

Dr. Bortel was about to turn out the lights and close the door when he recognized the wing janitor, "Buster," en route to his lab with a cleaning cart. He left the door partially open.

"Have a good day, Buster," he said.

"Take care, Doc," said the janitor pleasantly, noticing how fatigued the eccentric scientist sounded as well as looked. He bumped the lab door open and entered with the cart, hearing a muffled crinkle and thump, but was unable to determine where the sound came from. Buster set to cleaning, having long since developed a pattern of working through Bortel's clutter.

Pushing the cart closer to the scientist's lab worktable he made to pull the trash when he noticed something peculiar lying among the waste. A strange, olive-colored, wooden mask. Buster reached down and pulled it out. He looked it over, front to back, noting how the front had wavy creases and some odd symbols engraved in it. The mask had spaces carved out for the eyes and mouth, but rather than some shape for the nose, the shape resembled that of a nose guard painted gold, with the appearance that four rivets were driven into it.

Familiar with the expression _leave things where you found them_, Buster figured, "Well, if he wants it thrown out…" and dropped it back into the trash.

A while later it was time to take the trash out. Along with other members of the custodial staff, all decked out in coveralls, Buster hauled trash bins out to the dumpsters. Bag after bag, they casually tossed them all into the container. As with the other bags, the last one to be disposed of they paid no mind to, and then returned to the building to finish their shift. None of the custodians noticed that the plastic of the last bag had been pierced through, the mask now fully exposed.

* * *

Sunset was a couple of hours away.

A large chunk of ceiling over Cyrus Bortel's laboratory glowed green. It broke away and fell to the floor with a smack and shattered to shards before a raven-haired woman in a tight-fitting, green-and-black-patterned uniform dropped through the wide hole and landed without a sound. Piloting a miniature hovercraft on which he stood, a blue-skinned man wearing a blue lab overcoat descended after her.

Dr. Drakken stepped off the machine and began searching as his evil sidekick Shego spoke.

"Doc, if you're such an evil genius, shouldn't you be inventing your own stuff?"

"Can it, Shego," he growled. "The one thing I'm in need of, that kook Bortel already invented." Drakken then continued his search.

"What exactly are we here for?" asked Shego as she rummaged through things that were of no real importance to her. An abrupt "A-ha!" startled her.

"This is it!" cried her boss ecstatically. "The electron magneto-accelerator is now mine! With it I'll be able to supercharge any electrical device to evil proportions!"

"Whoopee," cheered Shego in a not-at-all-excited tone. She made to walk over to him when they both heard an all-too-familiar female voice.

"Stealing again, Drakken?"

Shego and Drakken turned to the doorway of Bortel's lab as another voice asked, "Whatever happened to inventing your own stuff?"

There was much frustration in Drakken as he recognized his teen nemesis Kim Possible and her goofy sidekick… whose name always escaped him. The duo was not alone, though. Accompanying them were some of the science facility's security guards.

Turning to his evil sidekick Drakken politely ordered, "Shego, would you clear us a pathway, please?"

"With pleasure, Doc," she answered, opting to drop the unarmed guards first. They would just be obstacles in her fight with Kim, a fight she relished despite her frequent losses versus the high school cheerleader. And the princess's bumbling sidekick, Ron, she never really bothered with. Shego often left him to tangle with her not-always-competent boss.

After a series of plasma blasts were launched towards the new arrivals, Kim leapt away and Ron ducked, as usual, but the unprepared guards all took hits and were knocked out. Shego engaged Kim in hand-to-hand combat. Drakken would likely try fleeing with his prize, but that never fazed her in the least. She usually caught up with him nevertheless after she escaped and they would move on.

Ron did obstruct Drakken, stalling him by taking an uncoordinated martial arts stance then leaping about and even towards him. He had the villain so distracted that Drakken did not realize a pink rodent crawling about him and snatching the accelerator device from his hands.

When Drakken realized his hands were empty he made to charge after the rodent. But then something large, the size and frame of his raven-haired sidekick, collided with him, knocking them both out of the laboratory and into the hallway.

Recovering her senses, Shego stood up and, before Kim or Ron or even security backup could apprehend them she helped her boss to his feet and hurried the two of them to the nearest exit.

Once the police arrived, Team Possible and the science center's security guards on scene gave their reports. Drakken had gotten away, but at least this time neither he nor Shego got away with anything. The police informed the duo that they would also contact Dr. Bortel and assure him nothing of his was stolen.

Departing the science facility, Kim and Ron headed for the rendezvous point where there ride would be to pick them up and take them home. As they walked by the dumpsters that the facility's custodial staff had just a short while ago disposed of trash in, something caught Ron's attention.

"Hey KP, check that out," said Ron just before he headed towards the dumpster. He pulled out the mask.

"Ron, that's nasty," Kim commented while her partner looked the mask over. "You don't even know how long that thing's been there," she added, prompting Rufus to stick out his tongue and add, "Bleah."

Ignoring her, Ron raised the mask to his face. In a theatrical tone of voice, he said, "The phantom is now your mastermind, Kimberly Anne."

"Ron what have I told you about the middle name?" Kim asked sternly.

Ron lowered the mask, smiling, not at all threatened by her statement. "I think it's cool. I think I'll keep it."

Kim rolled her eyes. "Whatevs," she said and started walking again. Ron followed, mask still in hand.


End file.
